Stories from Friday, July 5, 1991

Mildred McNeely, 86, 2530 Peach Tree, died Wednesday, July 3, 1991, at Southeast Missouri Hospital. She was born July 21, 1904, at Leemon, daughter of David and Rosalie Query McKee. She married Archie McNeely Oct. 2, 1925. He died Aug. 6, 1980. McNeely was a lifelong member of the Presbyterian Church, having moved her membership from Apple Creek at Pocahontas to First Presbyterian in Cape Girardeau. ...

The average monthly temperature during June was above the 46-year, long-term average for Cape Girardeau. It marked the fifth consecutive month that the average temperature was above the long-term average. But the weather service says some relief may be in store this month, during what is normally the hottest period of the summer...

PERRYVILLE -- Most business owners like to reward their employees each year for a job well done. But Don Welge doesn't go for the traditional bonus check or office party. This year, his approximately 2,000 employees will get a private country music concert featuring performers Ricky Van Shelton and Dottie West...

JACKSON -- Being a teenager isn't easy. To help young people cope with the pressures of growing up, St. Francis Medical Center is offering a free stress management course. The program, designed especially for those in the junior high and high school age groups, is set for 10 to 11:30 a.m. July 25 at the St. Francis Information Center in Jackson...

The Student Recreation Center at Southeast Missouri State University will be open to youths in the community, who are at least 16 years old, during "off" school dates, including the summer and semester breaks. A $2 per visit admission fee will be charged, university officials said. Rental of sports equipment is extra. Priority will be given to scheduled groups, such as those participating in various activity camps at the university...

JACKSON -- Old-time craft making will be on display July 20 and 21 at the St. Louis Iron Mountain and Southern Railway in Jackson. The Silver Dollar City Crafters Guild will make a stop at the railway to demonstrate and sell their crafts. About 40 crafters will fill the grounds for the two days, and admission is free, said Mary Strong with the railway...

Here are just a few words to describe a man from Chaffee named Aaron Horrell: dairy farmer, father of four, gardener, weed and grass trimmer, artist. If the word artist somehow doesn't fit into the picture of a man who is busy with the farm and family, an exhibit of Horrell's paintings might change that mental picture...

I AM GLAD to hear about the no-smoking signs at City Hall. I JUST WATCHED AN edition of "Crossfire" where the analysts were concerned about teenage drinking. I don't know about all teeangers, but I'm 19 years old myself and I do feel like if the U.S. government is going to ask me to register for selective service when I turn 18, and potentially tell me some day down the line that I'm going to have to pick up a rifle and shoot a man, that I am more than old enough to have a drink. Thank you...

Days of misspent youth are not necessarily misspent; they can be recycled as nostalgia. In a magazine article not long ago, actress Michelle Pfeiffer was discussing games of make-believe from her girlhood. She and her friends would play "Gilligan's Island" and an argument would always ensue about who got to be Ginger...

Missouri's steadfast tradition of political, civic and institutional conservatism has long fascinated the state's political scientists and others who seriously study the historical anatomy of a region that likes to call itself the "Heart of America."...

The United States is a nation where the rights of citizens are protected. Some of the frustration of those who abide by laws stems from a perception that too much legal protection is afforded perpetrators of crimes and not enough is given to victims. The U.S. Supreme Court has made a ruling that should soften this perception; we applaud the justices for permitting a more widespread use of victim-impact evidence...

A youth triathlon will be held Aug. 10 at the Cape Girardeau Central Pool. The triathlon will begin at 8 a.m. with registration. The races begin at 9 a.m. The event consists of a 300-meter swim, a 2-mile bike race and a 1-mile run. The triathlon is open to boys and girls between the ages of 9 and 18...

There are a couple of faces in the region that we will be seeing less of in the near future. Bob Sfreddo has served as District 10 chief engineer of the Missouri Highway and Transportation Department since 1987. Peter C. Magrath has been president of the University of Missouri system since 1985. Both will be moving on to new positions soon, leaving behind positive contributions for the citizens they served and a good example for other public officials...

SCOTT CITY -- Graveside service for Mary Elizabeth Lumpkins of Flat River, was held Thursday at Lightner Memorial Cemetery here. Amick-Burnett Funeral Home was in charge of arrangements. Lumpkins, 82, died Tuesday, July 2, 1991, at Desloge Health Care Center in Flat River...

WILSON CITY -- Georgia Jones, 91, of Wilson City, died Saturday, June 29, 1991, at Miner Nursing Center. She was born Feb. 15, 1900, in Scobey, Miss. Survivors include a daughter, Earlene Graham of Wilson City; seven sons, Ferl Jones of Cleveland, Ohio, Freddie Jones of Detroit, Mich., Vernel Jones of Richmond, Calif., Willie Jones of Ashtabula, Ohio, Oliver Jones Jr. ...

CAIRO, Ill. -- Ellis L. Shelby, 81, of Barlow, Ky., died Wednesday, July 2, 1991, at Western Baptist Hospital in Paducah, Ky. He was born July 23, 1909, at East Prairie, Mo., son of Wade Shelby and Clara Phillips Shelby. Survivors include a brother, Ernest Shelby, of Cairo, Ill., Mary M. Casey, of Benton, Ark., and a half-brother, Randolph Keith of Paducah, Ky...

THEBES, Ill. -- Randy K. Tapley, 33, of Thebes, Ill., died Thursday, July 4, 1991, at St. Francis Medical Center in Cape Girardeau. He was a member of First Baptist Church in Thebes. He is survived by his parents, Clifford and Cornelia Tapley, of Thebes; sisters, Cheri Witzman of Zion, Ill., and Cathy McCain of Cape Girardeau; two brothers, David Tapley of Thebes and Richard Tapley, of Scott City, Mo.; paternal grandmother, Virgie Cochran of East Cape, Ill.; and other relatives...

VILLA RIDGE, Ill. -- George Lee Richard, 76, of Olmsted, Ill. died Thursday, July 4, 1991, at the Veterans Administration Medical Center at Marion, Ill. He was born May 19, 1915, at Olmsted, son of Henry Leon Richard and Lillie Kissman Richard. He was a retired farmer...

Son to Mr. and Mrs. Randy Napier, 1020 Independence, Southeast Missouri Hospital, 7:21 a.m. Friday, June 28, 1991. Name, Jacob Randal. Weight, 7 pounds 13 ounces. Second son. Mrs. Napier is the former Ginalei Kitchen, daughter of Jack and Jean Kitchen of Cape Girardeau, and is employed at Schnucks. Napier is employed at KAGMO, and is the son of Arvin and Gwen Napier of Charleston...

George Washington, The Battle of Little Big Horn, the Alamo, McCarthyism, the atomic bomb. Almost everyone who has studied U.S. history will remember those wide array of historical names and events. But do names like John A. "Black Jack" Logan, the Great Floating Hindoo Pagoda, Fort Massac and Va Bache ring any bells?...

JACKSON - Cape Girardeau County Auditor H. Weldon Macke and County Clerk Rodney Miller have walked the halls of the state capitol for many legislative sessions, working for new laws to help county government. Over the years, they have had a hand in convincing lawmakers and state officials to support legislation that has had a positive impact on county government. ...

SCOTT CITY -- It's been a long wait for Glema Milligan, but 46 years after she first requested it, she's finally going to get city sewer service to her home and adjacent property in Scott City. "I'm just a little perturbed about this. I've taken all I can take," she said. "It's been way too long and I think I've been more than patient."...

JACKSON -- Had it not been for all of modern society's trappings and advancements, Thursday's Fourth of July celebration at Jackson might have passed for a post-World War II homecoming ceremony. Instead, the celebration parade featured cars and trucks from the 1990s and earlier, as well as high-tech military vehicles. The war fought by the celebration's guests of honor, the veterans of Operation Desert Storm, followed the United States' involvement in World War II by about half a century...

Sale of fireworks was booming business, while traffic fatalities were few in the region over the Fourth of July holiday. But the discharge of fireworks may have led to a house fire in Cape Girardeau late Thursday afternoon, authorities said. The fire occurred at a four-room house at 511 LaCruz in south Cape Girardeau. ...

A major fire last weekend that destroyed two buildings in Scott City's industrial park points out the need for improved water service for that area and the nearby Cape Girardeau Municipal Airport, said Airport Manager Mark Seesing. The industrial tract is on the east side of Interstate 55, across the interstate from the Cape Girardeau airport...

The Capaha Classic 5000 meter race will be held July 13 at Capaha Park. Registration begins at 7 a.m. The race starts at 8 a.m. This 5K race is open to all male and female participants 13 years of age or older. The fee is $6 for early registration and $7 the day of the race...

SCOTT CITY -- A complaint filed against two Scott City police officers accusing them of abandoning a 6-year-old boy after arresting his grandfather has been found "without doubt false" by a city officer who investigated the claim. A copy of the investigating officer's report, obtained by the Southeast Missourian, states "the child was never abandoned" and that the grandfather gave four men who were inside a nearby building permission to take the boy home...

JEFFERSON CITY -- Missouri eagles are staging a comeback. Repeated sightings of a nearly-mature bald eagle have been reported near Licking, Mo. Missouri Department of Conservation ornithologist Jim D. Wilson said he had received reports of three sightings of a bald eagle at Licking, which had been released as part of Missouri's bald eagle restoration program...

WAPPAPELLO -- Largemouth bass fishing has been only fair throughout most of the summer fishing season at Lake Wappapello, but don't try telling that to Wayne Godwin of Jackson. Godwin, who like to wet a hook any time he can, hauled in a monster bass in late May, and it still stands as the largest bass caught in the state this year...

Missouri is one of a handful of states that have volunteered to participate in the start-up of a new, nationwide program to improve knowledge about the harvest of ducks, geese, mourning doves, woodcock and other migratory game birds. Missouri Department of Conservation Director Jerry Presley said his agency had volunteered for the National Migratory Bird Harvest Information Program...

WAPPAPELLO -- Demand for outdoor recreational facilities is at an all-time high these day. "Boat ramps, camp sites, pavilions, play courts, and other facilities are getting heavy usage at Lake Wappapello," says Michael McClendon, of the Corps of Engineers...

Bicycle riders will meet at Dutchtown at 2 p.m. Sunday for the Velo Girardeau Bicycle Club's 35-mile "Oran Run." The ride will feature a flat ride through farm country and small towns. Dean Hecht is ride director for the Sunday jaunt. The Velo Club will host a 25-mile ride July 14, the "Greensferry Ride," a scenic loop between Cape Girardeau and Jackson. ...